Former Ukrainian national gymnast and European champion Mykola Kuksenkov fled to Russia in late 2012 in the summer, one step away from a medal at the London Olympics. And after the full-scale invasion of Russia, he not only did not condemn the war, but also resented the suspension of the aggressor country's gymnasts, and considers it simply impossible to perform without a flag.

Mykola from Kyiv played for Ukraine until 2012, winning European championships and the Universiade. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, the blue and yellows were supposed to take bronze as a team, but after a protest from Japan and a long judicial dispute, the Ukrainians slipped back to fourth place, and 23-year-old Kuksenkov announced his departure for Russia.

In the Russian Federation, the former Ukrainian quickly changed his mind and began to tell us how glad he was that his passport would finally say Nikolay instead of Mykola, and that he had written a letter to Putin as a child and considered himself a Russian person.

Valentyna Rodionenko, the head coach of the Russian national team, also echoed him, shouting that they had not lured anyone away, saying that Nikalai himself had always said that he wanted to play for our country and considered himself a Russian. At the same time, the "original Russian" himself said in an interview that if he had won a medal at the 2012 Olympics, he would not have left Ukraine.

Already under the Russian flag, Kuksenkov won three gold medals at the 2013 Universiade in Kazan, became the 2014 European champion and the winner of the 2015 European Games in Baku. Before the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Kuksenkov also won gold at the Russian Championships, but he was immediately caught doping, which is a common occurrence among Russian athletes.

However, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) covered up his Olympic hope and in two weeks cancelled the gymnast's temporary disqualification so that he could go to Rio 2016 and help Russia win silver in the team.

In May 2016, Kuksenkov posted a photo with a St George's ribbon, and in August, after the Brazilian Games, he boasted of a photo with Russian Defence Minister Shoigu, calling him the owner of Topol and Yarsa, referring to missile systems. And on his Instagram page, the cotton gymnast was proud to belong to the Russian army.

In July 2021, after his career ended and he moved to a coaching position, Kuksenkov posted photos with his mother and niece on holiday in Russian-occupied Georgian Abkhazia.

And after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the bombing of his native Kyiv, the former gymnast did not think about the lives he lost, but about sanctions against the terrorist country and his return to sport under a neutral flag. And there were no public condolences to his former teammate Igor Radivilov, whose grandparents were killed in Mariupol, which was burned down by Russia.

"It is unacceptable to perform under a white flag, but the athlete is not to blame. Competing under the white flag is discrediting Russian athletes, we don't deserve it," Russian youth team coach Mykola Kuksenkov told Match TV.

Then Kuksenkov became very animated after the scandalous decision of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) to allow "neutral" Russians who do not support the war to compete. He hopes that the International Gymnastics Federation will also bend: "We have a chance to go through the Asian qualifiers and try to make it to the Olympics". But time will tell...

Meanwhile, Kuksenkova's older sister, who was also born in Kyiv, works as a propagandist for Channel One and is listed in the Myrotvorets database. In late December, Putin awarded Irina an order for "courage". On April 11, 2022, the so-called military correspondent was filming a "report" in the Mariupol industrial zone and was wounded but survived.

The propagandist also manages the People's Front project "Support Service for Veterans of the Special Military Operation" and raises funds and supplies to help the occupiers on the front line. In particular, she helped the intelligence unit of the DPR police. This is the family of former Kyiv residents, the Kuksenkovs...

Earlier OBOZREVATEL reported that the Olympic champion who betrayed Ukraine helps Russia's propaganda, but lives and works in Thailand.

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